As mentioned in the description for this blog, my family used to make cane syrup when I was a child. The picture above is of my dad near the cane mill at my granddad's garden in Overstreet, Florida. I would guess the year to be in the mid-to-late 1970s. It could not be much later, since my grandma died in 1980, and she was the only one who really knew when the syrup was done cooking. I know my dad grew sugar cane once or twice after she died, but I think we only used that for chewing, and we never made syrup again. I have bittersweet memories of those times. I distinctly remember how we kids were given the syrup from the sides of the big kettle, which was set into a brick base under which a fire would be made; there was a roof overhead, but the walls were made of mosquito netting. The mill may at one point have been turned by a beast of burden -- or even by my dad and uncles -- but by my time it was turned by a little walk-behind tractor.
I could probably take you to the spot where this all took place, but that garden has been sold after having stood abandoned for at least 40 years. The kettle was recovered from some neighbors who pried it loose to steal it. All the buildings have surely collapsed, and the jungle has taken over. There would be little to see, though it might make an interesting exercise for archaeology students.
The photo was emailed to me after my dad's death in August.
On a happier note, there are places where you can still see cane syrup made, Here's a link to a news story about it in the local news. These videos give a feel for what was going on, though they are on something more like a commercial scale.
